The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1887-11-02
THEY WANT AMERICAN TRADE.
Thatlis What Agitates Our Canadian
keighhors.

MONTREAL, Nov. 1.-The Hon. Mr. Long
ley, Attorney General for Nova Scotia, ex-
pressed himself pretty freely on the COM
mercial union question yesterday. He said:
"Unfortunately the confguration of Can
ada is such that there can pe no healthy in
terprovincial trade. After 20 years expert
ence in confederation with absolute freedom
Of trade between the several provices, with
enormous expenditures on railroads spec
tally designed to promote this trade, there is
practically today no healthy interprovincial
trade. The products of the great natural
industries of Nova Scotia are compelled to
seek market elsewhere. This is the chief
cause of the widespread feeling of discon-
tent that prevails. The same principles are
applied to all the provinces. Ontario's trade
is not with the maritime provinces, but with
New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan,
Ontario and Quebec, but with st. Paul and
Minneapolis, and the railway problem
which is now agitating Manitoba is simply
the outcome of universal want on the part
of the people of that province to trade with
the United States. The trade of British
Columbia is almost entirely with California.
Montreal, while gaining certain advantages
from her present trade with the maritime
provinces, would from her position secure
hundred-fold greater advantages by obtain
ing share of the enormous trade of the
States surrounding her. The whole prob
lem is solved by policy of unrestricted
trade for North America This would allay
the discomfort in Nova Scotia; 1t would set
tie the railway problem in Manitoba; would
give an enormous impetus to the agricultu-
raj industry of Ontario and Quebec, and put
an end to the mad and unproftless task of
attempt TO force an unnatural and profitless
trade between provinces geographically
separated"
Edo you think that this question of COM
mercial union will come up at the Fishery
CommissiOn?"
81 have no doubt it will. have reason to
believe that Secretary Bayard regards this
as the most practicable and permanent set
tlement Of the fishery difficulty. The United
States will not consent to any scheme of
partial reciprocity, neither will they agree
to a settlement of the fishery question on
! any such Interpretation as that put forward
by the Canadian government of the treaty of
1873. Therefore the commission must either
result In the acceptance of unrestricted reci-
procity or total surrender of Canadian
rights in the fisheries or end in failure. l
have reason to hope that Mr. Bayard will
propose unrestricted reciprocity as basis
| OF settlement, and have reason to fear that
Sir Charles Tupper, acting under the au-.
thorlty OF the Canadian government, will
decline that offer. have no confidence that
| this great question of unrestricted intercon-
| tinental trade will ever be ACCOMPLISHED nm
| der the regime of Sir John Mcdonald But
so sanguine am that the great mass of the
| people of every province are in favor of this
| policy that, in the event of the Butterworth
bill being adopted by the American Con-
| gress, / am certain that government which
| failed to initiate corresponding legislation
| on our side could not exist for one year"